Chapter 14: Glimpses Beyond the Veil

Kael stepped through the portal, and the shimmering light folded in on itself as the world around him changed. Gone was the luscious tranquility of the village and its forests, replaced by an empty plain under a wildly whirling sky of deep purples and blacks. Lightning crackled somewhere in the distance, and the very air seemed to vibrate with foreboding energy. This was a land quite unfamiliar to anything he had ever known here in this strange new world-a land sculpted by pure dissonance.

Here it was, somewhere down the line, that the essence of the mark of the Harbingers of Dissonance could be seen. This was not merely a distortion in the land itself, but a thing of essence, of substance. Kael felt the dissonance-the distortion of the laws of nature.

Beside him, Legacy of the Cosmos spoke softly, almost thoughtfully. "This is the Dissonant Realm. A fragment of existence untouched by the harmonic balance of creation. A place where order and chaos collide, and the Harbingers thrive."

Kael nodded. His face was still smooth, but with a sense of intensity. "So this is where they conduct their business from, rigging the world around them to make it like themselves: dissonant.

"Yes. It is a place where they derive their strength, said the Legacy. "But it's also a place in which they are vulnerable. Their power comes at a cost-stability is not one of their strengths.

Kael stood surveying the world before him, his senses so sharp that they reached far beyond the human eye could. He felt it dark and pulsating within that very center of this place, a signature of a leader Harbinger. Very unlike the one he knew, the natural energy here presented no gentle flow but was rather like that of a battleground between creation and destruction.

Soon Kael continued on foot. His footsteps sounded louder than they should have in the empty hollowness, and with every step he took, there was a force that made the ground shake. Though he had no intentions of facing the leader of the Harbingers anytime soon, he could quickly feel their presence.

It had been some time, and through the distance, a dark shape took form. Kael moved closer, his guess was wrong-thought he'd find the leader of the Harbingers-but rather stood before one figure waiting for him. She was all in dark, flowing robes, her eyes glinting subtly in unnatural light. Her aura was unreadable, disjointed, as if she stood in two realities.

"You're not what I expected," she said, her voice echoing eerily in the distorted air. "And then again, nothing ever goes as planned in this forsaken place."

Kael stopped a few feet from her, cocking his head to one side. "And who might you be?

She smiled, but that smile didn't touch her eyes. "I am Seraphine, one of the Harbingers of Dissonance. I have watched you. You are different from the others. Too calm, too poised, as if nothing in this world can touch you."

Kael looked at her wordlessly. "That's because it can't."

Seraphine's eyes narrowed. "You speak with such confidence, stranger, yet there are forces far beyond even your conceit."

Let the silence stretch, Kael's presence alone unsettling her as much as her words of confident bravado were meant to do. He can see it, the tip in her balance, just a slight shift to one side—the Harbingers had expected something, but nothing whatsoever about him.

"I am not here to destroy your world," Kael finally said, his voice booming with weight of undeniable truth. "Not unless you give me a reason to.".

For an instant, the air between them charged thick with tension. Kael's gaze spearhead-pierced Seraphine; and though she attempted to veil it, he could feel her uncertainty. The Harbingers operated in chaos, but even they had limits. And Kael, standing there like an unshakable pillar of strength, was far beyond anything she could have contemplated.

Then Seraphine spoke again, this time low. "You want to see the chieftain. He is close. But warn you, he is not to be underestimated. Not even for anyone like you."

Kael didn't say anything. He didn't need to. All of his strength spoke for itself. A nod made him keep moving, passing by Seraphine. She saw him, her big black eyes wide open in fright and curiosities.

The land shifted with every step Kael took. The arid plains warped and bucked upward into jagged mountains that began to act like obsidian, and the air cooled. Dark clouds churned overhead, and rumbling thunder crackled through the air. It was as if this world itself were reacting to his presence-an unwilling world, one that did not want him there.

But Kael took another step forward.

He would make his way down to the base of a titanic, arched tower that clawed at the sky. Its surface heaved with dark energy, and at its summit, Kael sensed the leader of the Harbingers waiting.

And then Kael stopped at the precipice, took a breath of what was to be done. The Harbingers were far from him, but potent nonetheless-made of the unyielding forces of chaos that ruled the universe. This place was testament to their might, and Kael knew he'd have to bring something more than blunt force up against this leader: patience, understanding, and maybe a little sympathy.

The Legacy of the Cosmos whispered in his head. "Not a fight to dash into, Kael. The Harbinger leader won't attack without some warning. You'll have time to study, to watch, and to decide how you want to respond to this.".

Kael nodded in respect to the words. The leader of the Harbingers was no threat to his omnipotence, but he certainly seemed to have intentions. This was far more than a personal vendetta; it was a battle over the very fabric of reality itself.

He strode forward, up the dark winding stairs of the tower. With every step, the opressive energy coming from the Harbingers seemed to grow, but so did Kael's determination. He wasn't here to destroy for the sake of destroying. He was here to understand-to face this chaos and bring balance to it.

He ended up at a terminal where Kael stood in front of a massive ornate door. Feel across it was the presence of the leader of the Harbingers-there, that being steeped in power and dissonance was waiting for him.

Kael drew in a deep breath; his hand rested against the surface of the door. He was not afraid. He wasn't even nervous. He was just ready.

With a little nudge, the door swung open, and Kael walked in first.